The 11 new cast members for the NHK Taiga drama "UNBOUND - Tsutae Eika no Yumebanashi" which will start on January 5, 2025, have been announced. In addition to comedian and illustrator Tekken, Naoko Iijima, Ryo Tamaki, Ryota Miura, Motoki Ochiai, and Shuntaro Miyao will be making their first appearance in a Taiga drama.
Tekken will play the role of Isoda Koryusai, an ukiyo-e artist who worked on "Hinagata Wakana Hatsumoyo," which was planned by the main character Tsutaju (Ryusei Yokohama Ryusei) and published together with Nishimuraya Yohachi (Nishimura Masahiko). Tekken commented, "I especially love taiga dramas, especially those about the Sengoku period, and I often watch them. It's an impossible story, but I often wondered what it would be like if I could appear in one. I was very surprised when I received an offer to appear in this taiga drama, and I thought that I would never have such an honor again, so I decided to appear."
Regarding the character he plays, Isoda Koryusai, he said, "I thought that the fact that I'm an artist might have had some connection to the role. I'm not confident in my acting, but I'm good at drawing, so I'd like people to see me drawing. I'm not very clear-spoken, and I'm not confident in my acting, so if possible, I'd like people to see me drawing. To that end, I'm currently practicing Koryusai's ukiyo-e."
Iijima will play Fuji, Tsutae's mother-in-law; Tamaki will play Toyoshima, the new head clerk at the brothel Matsubaya (Masame Bokuzo); Miura will play Urokogataya Chobei, the heir to Edo's local book wholesaler Urokogataya; Ochiai will play Shimizu Shigeyoshi, the head of the Shimizu Tokugawa family, one of the three main branches of the Ken Watanabe family; and Miyao will play Tanuma Okitsugu 's (Watanabe Ken) nephew Tanuma Okitsugu.
Also appearing in the film were Ichihara Hayato, Inowaki Kai, Tokui Yu, Maeno Tomoya, and Hanafusa Mari. Ichihara will play the blind millionaire Toriyama Kengyo, Inowaki will play the ronin Shinnosuke who works with Hiraga Gennai, Tokui will play Tohachi, the head clerk at Urokogataya, Maeno will play Katsushika Hokusai's master and the greatest actor-artist of his time, Katsukawa Shunsho, and Hanafusa will play Horen-in, who raised Kenmaru ( Kokoro Terada), who would later become Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"UNBOUND - Tsutaya Juzaburou's Dream Story" is the 64th taiga drama, depicting the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo, who is said to have built the foundations of Japan's media industry and pop culture. The production team bills him as "a man of great talent who was born with nothing - no parents, no money, no artistic talent - but became the darling of his time as the 'media king of Edo.'"
